Revision Tip of the Week

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, BUT ENTHUSIASM PULLS THE SWITCH!

IF YOU STUDY TO REMEMBER, YOU WILL FORGET, IF YOU STUDY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU WILL REMEMBER!

FOR EVERY MINUTE SPENT ORGANISING, AN HOUR IS EARNED!

AN ORGANISED SPACE CREATES CLARITY AND CLARITY ATTRACTS SUCCESS!

Tip Week: 4

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22565912

Prof John Dunlovsky, of Kent State University reviewed 1,000 scientific studies looking at 10 of the

most popular revision strategies.

Which two revision strategies do you think he

found were the most effective?

IT’S ALL I N

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22565912

"In any other context, students use this technique. - if you were doing a dance recital you wouldn't start practising an hour before,

yet students like to cram for an exam.“

The best strategy is to plan ahead and not cram – you should use a technique called

“distributed practice“

Distributed practice is where you distributing your revisionb/learning over time - in other

words, not cramming.

Prof Dunlovsky says that this is the "most powerful" of all the strategies.

"A good dose of cramming that follows up on lots of distributive practice is the best way to

go."

"A century of research has shown that repeated testing works.“

"Students who can test themselves or try to retrieve material from their memory are

going to learn that material better in the long run", says Prof Dunlovsky.

"Start by reading the text book then make flash cards of the critical concepts and test

yourself”

He adds: "Testing itself when you get the correct answers appears to produce a more elaborative memory trace connected with

your prior knowledge, so you're building on what you know".

PLAN AHEAD

Work Out Your Revision Style

http://www.rocketmemory.com/articles/memory-improvement/

• We all learn in different ways. Some of us like reading, some of us like sketching, some of us like listening.

• The important thing to remember when preparing for your exams is to find out what works for you!

• Test out a few different methods to find what works best for you.

• Test out what time of the day is best for you too!

• Here we have a collection of revision methods that your teachings have found useful.

Highlighting Revision Notes

Mrs Aitken says… “I highlighted key terms and enjoyed creating colour-coded mind-maps. I

started on large A3 sheets, simplified notes to A4, then to A5 and finally

before an exam to an A6 (index card size).”

Mrs Cresswell says… “I think highlighter pens are a great

revision aid – using colours to categorise notes or highlight key words.

Write down the definitions of the highlighted key words and get someone to test you on them. This always worked

for me.”

Mr Geall says… “The use of a four coloured biro to create plenty of contrast on notes

and distinguish between facts, figures, key words etc.”

Revision Mind Maps

Ms Thackray, Ms White, Mr Edwards and Miss Spink all say…

“Colour coded mind maps help you to plan essays and exam questions.”

“Adding sketches or images to a mind map acts as a reminder of difficult concepts.”

“Mind maps help you to memorise information and key words.”

Ms McGregor says… “Colourful mind maps to collect ideas, for example for essays are great, with each branch in a different colour to show the

paragraph/argument/point. If you are a visual learner, adding images to your mind map or visualising it really helps provide a clear and logical essay/detailed

answer to a question.”

Mr Lyne says… “If you are dyslexic , including a visual with

each of the key words, and making links helps with memorising.

Writing out the keywords in different colours and fonts helps also with spellings.”

Revision Flash Cards

Mrs Marks, Ms Burton, Ms Kirby and Mrs Rodgers all like flash cards because…

“You can use software like Quizlet to create them.” “They are an active way of revising vocabulary.”

“You can ask your parents to test you.” “You can use them anywhere/anytime to revise because

they are small and portable.” “You can re-write the questions and answers to help you

make connections.”

Miss Oldfield says… “The idea of creating revision cards with the

question/term on one side and the answer on the other is a good one. You can test each other, or use them on your own. Swapping revision cards with your friends gives you a

different set of questions too!”

Mr McGee says… “I used key cards but made little

illustrations depending on the topic. It helps trigger information during the exams.

I also made up rhymes and stories for equations/rules.“

Mrs Makinson says… “I made flash card booklets with themes

and practitioners on. They were portable which meant I could revise anywhere/anytime. They are really

great for quotations!”

Revision Post-It Notes

Mr Geall says… “I remember a friend stuck

sheets all around the house so whenever he walked around he was effectively revising -

always thought it was a great idea.”

Miss Hanner says… “I put post-it notes all over the house with key words, definitions, equations

and quotations on. I read them as I was getting ready in a morning.. I put them

on the mirror, my cereal box, fridge, back of toilet door, etc.”

Mrs Aitken says… “One tip I learnt was not to keep revising the things you know already - it's the easy

option and makes you feel like you are doing something but you're not embedding

anything new!! So use coloured post-it notes to flag up pages in your notes /

revision guides; green (I know this), amber (I know some of this but not securely), red (I am not confident, must

revise/get help).”

Past Papers Revision

Ms Luck says… “Using the syllabus for the

qualification really helps to ensure you haven’t missed any theory or

sections out and helps you to learn the key terminology”

Mrs Lee says… “Past papers were the way for me and

got me through some of the challenging subjects. Revision was a bit like sport,

you have to practice over and over again (even if it’s the same practice or paper) to pass my Maths I did the same papers

for weeks! ”

Mrs Brear says… “These were incredibly useful when

combined with a timer. It helped me build up speed and helped me make

sure that the by the day of the exam, I knew I could do the paper in time!”

Mr Davies says… “Getting my hands on exam questions and a range of exam questions is what really pushed my grades up. Knowing

the type of questions an examiner could throw at you really equips you to do

well in exams. As Gary Player (famous South African golfer) once said, 'the

more I practice, the luckier I get.'

Ms Levy says… “I found Science difficult so I bought a new book that wasn't used in school and

went through all the examples and questions it

gave - doing practise questions over and over

again made me get to grips with the key topics. I ended

up with a good grade!”

Miss Clayton-Stead says… “I found rewriting notes in shortened versions over and over was effective. I

would repeat this many times so eventually I was left with key bullet

points on a small revision cards.”

Mr Kantola-Smith says… “Do something to actively engage with

information instead of passively reading it. Sort a long list of quotes according to theme. Sort them

according to character. Highlight all the quotes which link to context. Highlight linguistic features.

Rank your quotes according to usefulness.”

Miss Newman says… “Chunk content down, so it seems more manageable. After revising a chunk, select an exam question for that topic (see

your teacher for a list of questions). Make a plan for that exam question. Keep it brief - either bullet points or diagram form...whatever works for you.

Next time you revisit the topic, revise your plan as well as the content. Take phone photos of your plans, so you can fill

dead time with snippets of revision. This can help you get to grips with the structure of the exam

paper, the kind of questions to expect, and the exam technique required for that paper. It builds the all important

bridge between knowledge/understanding and exam technique.”

Active Engagement Revision 1

Active Engagement Revision 2

Miss Anderton says… “I would divide a piece of A4 into 8

equal boxes and write key facts for a topic into each box, then do this again and again but each time I would only

write down the bits I couldn’t remember/ understand. For quotes I would learn one word at a time until I

knew them. (I still do!).”

Mr Shingler says… “For single word or short phrase vocabulary revision, the

tried and trusted 'Read, Cover, Write, Check' is a very useful method which always works well. For learning of

longer passages, you could record your answers onto your phone so that you can hear them as you read them - this can help with fluency and pronunciation. Making lists of similar words/phrases can also help you to group these

words in your head and you can then in turn use them to paraphrase your written and spoken work. These methods

work for any language. ”

Mr Horsfield says… “Rewriting key points in my own words was the

best thing for me. It really helped me to remember the content and sometimes, if I had

written them out myself, I could remember what they looked like on the page and that also

helped me to recall what they said in the exam.”

Mnemonics Revision

Miss Rowley says… “I used to use mnemonics and create little stories or rhymes around the topics. I'd also use colour

blocking for large topics on mind maps; for example at A level for Language and Gender I'd put

all deficit theories to show women's weakness in pale, weak colours such as baby pink and the dominance theories in bold colours such as

orange.”

Mrs Brierley says… “Virtually everybody uses mnemonics, even if

they don’t realise it! It’s a simple way of memorising information so that it “sticks” in your brain longer and can be recalled more

easily in the future. Mnemonics were used in the Ancient Greek times!

Some are a little strange / silly but that all helps in the memorising

ARITHMETIC: A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream”

Mrs Parr says… “One method that you can use to study is

to make a song out of large or small blocks of information! This can make memorising it easier and quicker – you could even use your favourite song to

help you. What happens when you think of the alphabet… you start singing it in

your head automatically so it really does work!”

Family & Friends Revision

Mr Aston says… “Personally I could not sit still for more than ten minutes so I

found revision difficult. So, myself and like minded individual got together and chose certain topic eg the corn laws in history

(dull as dishwater) and presented the key points in an interesting way to the other person. Who would then repeat

the main points back. Then we d answer some questions together. Working like this was the reason I passed all my

exams and I have continued to use same technique at A level and uni. The process became more imaginative and creative eg

role plays and impressions of David Attenborough were a common theme.”

Mrs Naylor says… “Talk through your topics with either a friend or family

member....maybe give them a list of key words or questions to ask you and then verbalise your answers. Take an exam

question... revise the content for 20 minutes or so...then try and write an answer in a set time...the review your answer against a

mark scheme or your notes .”

Mr Gallagher says “I would write a list of questions of things that I

didn’t fully understand so that I didn’t spend time banging my head against a brick wall for too long

trying to figure something out. I would then ask my friends if they could explain it and if they couldn’t I

would speak to a member of staff. I found that I could remember the details of a conversations more

than writing things down. I also found it reassuring and reduced any anxieties or worries that I had. The

first time I spoke to a member of staff it seemed a bit odd but I found they were genuinely interested in my

revision and would continue to check in with me afterwards.”

Start trying some of these revision methods but remember, what works for others may not work for you – find your thing!

Dream BIG Start SMALL

ACT NOW! Robin Sharma